Police Hunt For More Suspects In Thai Bomb Blast

Thai police are looking for more suspects in connection with a bomb in Bangkok this week that killed 22 people, including a Briton.A huge manhunt is already under way for the prime suspect – a young man in a yellow T-shirt seen on a grainy video apparently planting the bomb, which exploded near the popular Hindu shrine of Erawan on Monday evening.

National police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri said: “We are also looking for other suspects in connection with the blast.

“These types of attacks are not usually planned by one person alone.”

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

The shrine reopened to the public on Wednesday, with people arriving to offer prayers and flowers.

Police said they had no doubt that the man seen in the video carrying a large backpack was responsible for the attack. But authorities gave no indication that they were aware of his whereabouts.

“The yellow shirt guy is not just the suspect. He is the bomber,” police spokesman Lieutenant General Prawut Thavornsiri said.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha called the shrine bombing “the worst incident that has ever happened in Thailand”, and he promised to track down those responsible.

“There have been minor bombs or just noise, but this time they aimed for innocent lives,” he said.

“They want to destroy our economy, our tourism.”

Bangkok was rattled again on Tuesday when another pipe bomb blew up at the Sathorn Pier, which is used by tourists, although no one was hurt.

Police are considering the possibility that ethnic Uighurs were behind the shrine bombing, after Thailand forcibly returned 109 Uighurs to China last month.

Another possibility being probed is that the suspect belongs to anti-government “Red Shirt” movements in the northeast, which backed Yingluck Shinawatra and her brother Thaksin – the siblings deposed by military coups in 2014 and 2006.

Among the dead was Vivian Chan, 19, a British law student who was resident in Hong Kong.

Five of the victims have been identified as Thai and four as Chinese – two of them from Hong Kong. Two Malaysians, one Singaporean and one Indonesian also died.

Hong Kong has raised its travel alert to red in the wake of the attack and advised citizens to avoid non-essential trips to Bangkok.

The British government has not taken similar action, instead advising people to “monitor news reports, follow the advice of local authorities and take extra care”.

The blast, which left more than 100 injured, took place in the central Chidlom district, a shopping hub popular among tourists.

CCTV footage showed a huge orange fireball as the bomb exploded and people fleeing down the street.

National police chief Somyot Poompanmuang said that the explosion was caused by a pipe bomb that contained 3kg of high explosive.